Summary In the early morning of 27April2004, the ferry Catherine-Legardeur left Sorel, Quebec, with 15passengers and 12vehicles bound for Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, Quebec. After proceeding for 10minutes on its scheduled river crossing in heavy fog, the ferry grounded approximately half a nautical mile downstream of the departure terminal. The vessel was refloated two and one half hours later and resumed service that day. No pollution or injuries were reported. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information Particulars of the Vessel Description of the Vessel Photo1. Passenger and vehicle ferry Catherine-Legardeur The Catherine-Legardeur is a double-ended ferry that carries passengers and vehicles across the St. Lawrence River between Sorel, Quebec, and Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, Quebec. Both ends of the vessel are identical, each having a centreline rudder and propeller and a boarding ramp that provides vehicles with direct roll-on, roll-off convenience (seePhoto1). Dual engine and rudder controls are positioned at a central conning position in the wheelhouse, such that they can be readily activated by a single operator (seePhoto2). Photo2. Bridge control consoles, looking either forward or aft When the operator is facing in the desired direction of travel and the main engine control levers are both pushed forward, the rear propeller is in the ahead mode pushing the vessel, while the leading propeller is in the astern mode, pulling the vessel in the desired direction. Except for docking and undocking, the forward-facing rudder is kept amidships. The vessel is equipped with a gyrocompass, two gyro-stabilized radars and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, as well as all other navigation instruments commensurate with the vessel's class and service. The ferry was not equipped with an electronic chart system nor was it required to be by regulations. History of the Voyage At 1900 eastern daylight time2 on 26April2004, the master and mate started their duty assignment on the Catherine-Legardeur. The ferry made its scheduled crossings every half hour and, at 0315 on 27April, the ferry was stopped for the night at Sorel as scheduled. Visibility was reported to be good and operations had been uneventful. Later that morning, between 0500 to 0510, during preparations for the resumption of service, the master noticed that the visibility was reduced somewhat by fog. At 0510, visibility had cleared for about five minutes but then was again reduced as before. At 0530, winds were negligible, but the fog reduced visibility to less than 30m as the vessel prepared to unberth and start its northbound crossing from Sorel. The ship's whistle was activated and lookouts were posted forward and in the wheelhouse. Both radars were turned on and set in relative motion display, unstabilized, head-up presentation. By 0535, the vessel was underway and once it cleared the Lanctt basin and passed the jetties, it quickly fell off to starboard into the river current setting approximately 075at two knots (seeFigure1). The master and mate both noticed that the gyrocompass repeater heading was rapidly turning to the east. Figure1. Approximate track of ferry to grounding When the navigation personnel monitored the radars, both set on the 1.5nautical mile scale, the echoes of the nearby landmass were seen to be quickly shifting, creating a blurred image from which the navigation personnel were unable to determine the vessel's position. Without visual cues or an understanding of the radar information because of the blurred image due to the swing, the master and mate used the GPS receiver's changing readout to gain an appreciation of the vessel's speed. As an attempt was made to bring the vessel to a stop with the help of this navigation instrument, the lookout reported seeing buoys ahead. The master manoeuvred to avoid the buoys and, shortly thereafter, at approximately 0545, the vessel grounded in position 4603'08N, 07306'09W, on a heading of 168gyro (see Figure1 and AppendixA). Photo3. Catherine-Legardeur with cleared deck Attempts to free the vessel were made without success. Passengers and company officials were quickly made aware of the situation but the Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) were not alerted until 0624. At 0817, the fog had lifted and, with the assistance of the tug OceanGulf, the Catherine-Legardeur was refloated. The ferry then continued its crossing to Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, disembarked all vehicles and passengers, and returned to Sorel, empty, to undergo inspection (seePhoto3). No apparent damage was found and the ferry resumed service later that day. Short-Run Ferry Service A short-run ferry is defined in the Marine Certification Regulations as a ship that operates in partially smooth waters between terminals that are not more than two miles apart and are in line of sight or nearly in line of sight. The Socit des traversiers du Qubec (STQ) operates a total of four short-run ferry services, one of which is the Sorel/ Tracy/ Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola crossing. The vessel's certificate of inspection, which was valid until February2005, permitted the vessel to operate on voyages within the limits of minor waters, ClassII. There was no mention of any restrictions of service in reduced visibility and company procedures did not prohibit operation of the ferry under these circumstances. On a short-run service, each ferry must be crewed by a navigation team of one master and one first mate. The Crewing Regulations specify the minimum certification necessary for each of these positions, namely a master, limited certificate for a short-run ferry, and a first mate, limited certificate for a short-run ferry. Persons who hold a master of a minor waters steamship certificate, such as the master on duty at the time of the grounding, are also eligible to work on these vessels as master or mate. For its four short-run ferries, the STQ presently employs 59bridge keeping officers each certificated accordingly as either master or mate. Personnel Experience The master started his sea service in 1967, has been with this company on the Catherine-Legardeur since 1986, and has served as permanent master on the vessel since 1991. The master reported very few instances in this period where he had navigated in very restricted visibility. Between 1990 and2000, the chief officer worked in the engine room. Starting in2000, he was employed alternately in the engine room and on deck/in the wheelhouse on a six-month rotation. Since2002, he has worked full time as chief officer on board the Catherine-Legardeur. He has had a master, limited certificate for short-run ferry servicesince1996. Radars The vessel's two radars are each capable of being operated in the gyro-stabilized mode. This display shows the land masses and buoys as fixed, even when the vessel alters course. This affords the navigator a better appreciation of the situation in conditions of restricted visibility and allows parallel indexing to be accomplished. The normal procedure aboard the Catherine-Legardeur is to use the unstabilized mode, which in good visibility, does not impair spatial orientation, as the radar display shows an image of the land masses moving relative to the head-up position of the ship and is representative of the (same) land masses as viewed from the wheelhouse looking forward. Blind Pilotage Proficiency To navigate safely in restricted visibility, blind pilotage is knowing one's vessel's position, course made good, speed over the bottom as well as handling characteristics such that the vessel is guided on its intended track in a precise fashion. This is accomplished with the aid of the instruments at hand in the wheelhouse, while exterior visual aids are not necessarily available. Blind pilotage requires specific training in the use of navigation instruments. Expertise at carrying out blind pilotage is acquired through training in Simulated Electronic Navigation (SEN). There are three course levels available: SEN2 (most comprehensive), SEN1, and SENL (limited version). However, SEN training is not required for short-run ferry certificates of competency. Nevertheless, 20of the 59STQ officers had either taken the SEN1 or SENL training course. The master of the Catherine-Legardeur had not received SEN training, although in-house training was provided to all navigation officers by the STQ in1995 and1996. The company is committed to ensuring that all navigation personnel have at least the SENL training by 31March2006. The in-house training included radar use, although blind pilotage techniques were not emphasized. The SEN1 course covers the use of all electronic aids to navigation. The SENL course is centred around radar use with an emphasis on collision avoidance. This latter course was developed in response to a need for radar training of the many individuals who hold certificates of competency that do not require the SEN1 or SEN2 course. However, the SENL syllabus does not cover blind pilotage. Since 2002, before issuing continued proficiency endorsements for master, minor waters certificates, Transport Canada conducts informal on-board oral tests to verify the master's basic practical knowledge of and familiarity with the radar as applied to the specific navigation equipment used on board. In this case, the master had received his continued proficiency endorsement before this practice was established.